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Hmmmm, anyway the episode itself was really good. I take back any worries about "product placement". The anime store sequence is just the way Konata feels when she enters "her domain" (its an exciting place). And the items in Konata's room are just the sorts of things she'd collect. Tsukasa was quite cute "kawaii'ing" over the Mikuru figurine.

I was pretty happy with the whole stay-over at Kona's house --- it was a pretty good adaptation of the manga sequence.

Tsukasa's "caught in the moe" look of embarrassment during her cellphone barrage was adorable.

Miyuki tagged a good sequence with her "zone out" sequence but I suspect her time is fading in preparation for the incoming characters.

L*C gave us quite a hot-blooded manly moment with Shiraishi's performance. I also was dreading the L*C eyecatch until he launched into his moment. We also get to see he's completely given up on Akira as she sits there scratching herself. With 14 more episodes to go.... where's L*C going to go next? ((hopes for more main content and a bit less L*C nonetheless))

In terms of "does this anime adapt the spirit and content of the manga .... I gave it a "10". It might have been a "9" but Shiraishi pulled the L*C gag out of the "again?" pit.

Finally, Kagami became even more adorable/huggable this episode to me ... fragile little crabby thing she is -- her trying to sing that tune at the end and flaming out did it for me.

what a pretty but difficult song... no wonder poor kagamin had trouble with it initially i was looking at tetsuya komuro stuff but i didn't know someone else had actually performed it. whoops.

The original version of the song is quite nice. The instrumentals are great and the singer is doing a good job of enjoying herself and working with the music. I could do without all the hand gestures and the constant feeling she seems to have that she needs to be smiling the whole time through the song. The smiling is kind of creepy.

She kind of goes a bit overboard with the song at times, doing the whiny sounding style of singing that is common in Idol types these days, but for the most part its seems like she's just doing her own style of singing rather than trying to force some sort of image.

I could see Simon Cowell of American Idol fame slamming her for being a bit pitchy, but giving her a pass overall.

In terms of how I enjoyed this versus the ending, I'd give this an 8.5/10 and the ending a 5/10.

I think the part that makes us so uneasy or confused about L*S is because many scenes in the anime dangle a whole lot of possibilities that we're so used to seeing as taking up a complete episode (or just a fanservice filler for other series). Most slice-of-life animes tend to take little issues like preparing birthday presents and stretch them out of proportion to achieve the funny, but L*S takes the complete opposite and tries to squeeze as many little issues as they can into one episode.

What are the Japanese words for "Baby Hedgehog"? The following is also based on the "Hedgehog's Dilemma".

At first appearance, they look unsociable and dangerous looking, but when you get to know them better, you realise that they are actually very lonely people and desire companionship. Their "hidden" side (the bottom of a Hedgehog in this case) is very soft and vulnerable.

This episode was what LS is all about. Head-spinning goodness. Nothing's perfect, but I gave it a ten, just to vary from my usual nine. The twins bowing so nicely to Konata's dad was a good moment, especially in contrast with his delight at having dinner with three high-school girls, lol. Tsukasa being so chuffed about telling her dad how to text was lovely. Miyuki's powers of concentration were equally moe. And the animation sequence in the store was a delight.

And Kagami is definitely a little hedgehog. Although I think she is a reasonable extension of tsundere, so I don't see the need to change the term. I do look forward to what the audience (Japanese and other) comes up with, however. I, too, enjoyed Shiraishi's flight.

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Kimura Juri木村珠莉 Joined Tokyo Voice Actors' Co-op in 2011, did voice-overs for corporate presentations. Anime bit parts 2013-14. Stars in Shirobako as Miyamori, will star in Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku (spring). Enjoys music, looking at Buddha images, reading. Used to work at a bookstore. Says she is a maudlin drunk. Age unknown.Hashihime blog | Twitter@nakanokimi |